Description:
The Australian–American Memorial is in Canberra, the national capital of Australia, and commemorates the help given by the United States during the Pacific War. After an appeal for finances by then Prime Minister of Australia, Sir Robert Menzies, the Australian people subscribed more than the eventual cost of £100,000, then a vast sum of money for such a public memorial, indicating the gratitude of the nation. Additional memorials were constructed in Brisbane and Adelaide that used the surplus funds.
Sydney architect Richard M. Ure won the design following a nationwide competition. Work commenced in December 1952 and took just over a year. Then Vice President, Richard Nixon, visited the site in the early stages of construction.
The memorial is a hollow, octagonal, tapered column with a steel framework sheeted with aluminium panels that were sandblasted to give the appearance of stone. Two murals feature at the base, one relating the story of American combat in the Pacific and the other a profile map of the United States in copper. The column is surrounded by a water-filled moat about 3m wide. Under the dedication is a bronze wreath, carved by Walter Langcake, where floral wreaths are often laid on official commemorations. The column is topped with a bronze sphere surmounted by a stylised figure of the American eagle by the distinguished sculptor, Paul Beadle. The Memorial's height is 73 metres (240 ft); the eagle and sphere are together around 11 metres (36 ft) high.
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